The defence team for the Italian captain on trial for the shipwreck of the Costa Concordia cruise liner and the deaths of 32 people on Monday appealed to the court to take into consideration errors by other crew and malfunctioning equipment when it determines his fate.

Prosecutors have asked a court to convict the captain of the Costa Concordia and sentence him to 26 years in prison for the 2012 shipwreck off Tuscany that killed 32 people, saying the term is hardly excessive given the death toll.

The captain on trial for manslaughter for the deaths of 32 people in the 2012 Costa Concordia shipwreck off Italy has testified that he didn't deem it necessary to order an early evacuation of the luxury liner.

A Rome university professor is facing a disciplinary hearing after inviting the captain of the shipwrecked Costa Concordia cruise liner to lecture students on emergency procedures, officials said Wednesday.